Les Centenaires Costières Blanc La Bergerie de Nimes 2020 - Rhone, France

9.5 stars / 10 Monvin Francais
87/100 Wine Enthusiast (2018 Vintage)
91/100 Jeb Dunnuck (2017 Vintage)

Wine Enthusiast “While the nose is restrained, the palate of this dry white blend offers zesty apple and pear marked by hints of anise and pepper. It's full bodied and easy drinking, best enjoyed now through 2023” (2018 Vintage)

Jeb Dunnuck "A blend of 40% Marsanne, 30% Roussanne, 20% Vermentino, and 10% Viognier. The 2017 Costières de Nimes Blanc has a great bouquet of ripe orchard fruits, white flowers, fresh pineapple, apple blossoms and hints of almonds. It's deep, rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully textured on the palate, and has real class. Drink this rich, seriously impressive southern Rhone white over the coming 2-4 years." (2017 Vintage)

Clos des Centenaires was founded Luc Baudet of Chateau Mas-Neuf fame, and Californian wine industry veteran, Jack Edwards who both share a passion for artisan wines and the terroir of France’s Southern Rhone.

Clos des Centenaires is a historic vineyard situated in Costieres de Nimes, close to the Mediterranean Sea. The vineyard boasts 70-year-old Grenache vines which are deeply rooted in the pebble stones overlooking the picturesque lakes of Petite Camargue. The vineyard also features Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, and Cinsault, and is known for producing unique, high-end, elegant wines of excellent value.

The vineyard soils are cultivated amongst natural grassland using shallow tillage methods and special attention is paid to the revitalization of vines (using annually prepared biodynamic compost). Inputs are limited to organically approved natural products.

Costieres de Nimes is the most southerly appellation of the Rhone wine region in southeastern France. The wines of the area are reputed to have been consumed by the Ancient Greeks and thus figure among the oldest known wines in the world. The Costieres de Nimes AOC covers an area between the towns of Nimes and Arles.

The Rhone Valley is one of France's key wine regions and is divided neatly by a gap of about 25 miles (40km). Wines from the northern part of the valley tend to be Syrah-dominant (Hermitage and Cote Rotie being the most notable examples), while wines from the southern Rhone are more commonly blends, with Grenache playing a more dominant role. Chateauneuf-du-Pape is the most famous example of a southern Rhone blend, but similar blends are found in wines from Gigondas, Vacqueyras, and the regional Cotes du Rhone title.

Southern Rhone White Blend is a blanket term used to describe the various combinations of white wine grapes used in the southern half of the Rhone Valley. The principal varieties involved in a white wine from the southern Rhone are any combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Ugni Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc and Picpoul.